Super High Contrast HDTV1 LCoS Engine for RPTV Market Offers Brilliantly Sharp, Vivid

[Gregg Lengling]

TFS' Brillian Corporation and 3M to Hold Technology Demonstration at the SID 2003 Trade Show in Baltimore, MD

TEMPE, Ariz., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brillian Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Three-Five Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TFS) today announced that it will demonstrate a super high contrast 720p HDTV1 LCoS(R) based light engine for the rear-projection television (RPTV) market at the Society for Information Display's (SID) International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition in Baltimore, MD.

Demonstrations will be conducted at the Baltimore Convention Center during a special breakfast event for attending media on May 21. Private demonstrations for OEMs/ODMs are available by appointment May 20-22.

The 720p HDTV1 light engine is based on the Vikuiti(TM) Optical Core from 3M and TFS' new Brillian(TM) BR768HC Microdisplay. The BR768HC utilizes TFS' proprietary LCoS cell construction with greatly improved contrast performance and is targeted at the high-quality, value segment of the product category. With contrast of 2000:1, the engine utilizing the BR768HC Microdisplay enables OEMs/ODMs to provide their customers with one of the highest contrast LCoS RPTV products in the consumer electronics marketplace. In addition, this 1280 x 768 microdisplay offers almost one million pixels on a 0.70" diagonal, making it compatible with a variety of optical designs.

A light engine consists of a lamp, power supply, microdisplays and associated drive electronics, a color management system, and a projection lens. These devices, when assembled into an engine, replace all of the image-related components in traditional CRT television products. The light engine is unique in that it is comprised of three tiny, high resolution LCoS Microdisplays and precision optics that separate light into its three primary colors, create the image and then recombine them to produce brilliantly sharp and vivid images beyond the capability of traditional display technologies.

This second-generation light engine is the result of more than two years of collaboration between TFS and 3M to develop technology to capitalize on the performance capability of the BR768HC microdisplays and is an evolution of the first-generation engine demonstrated at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2003 in January. 3M will offer the optical core to OEMs/ODMs as a reference design, enabling them customize it to their specific applications.

"Our patented new polarizing beam splitter (PBS) technology is helping manufacturers to realize the potential of LCoS by enabling a lower cost, higher efficiency engine based on the Vikuiti optical core," said Raj Patel, business manager, 3M Optical Systems Division. "We look forward to expanding applications of this technology into other emerging opportunities for rear projection displays in a variety of display designs and products."

The TFS/3M technology demonstration will feature an impressive high performance 65" RPTV development platform, which is scalable to support a variety of screen sizes. For more information or to schedule a demonstration appointment at SID 2003 May 20-22 in Baltimore, MD, call Deanna Krause at (602) 389-8800 or e-mail dkrause@35sys.com .

3M is actively marketing its technology to the RPTV market. For pricing or additional information on the Vikuiti optical core or the reference design, please contact 3M at (800) 553-9215. For information on the Brillian BR768HC Microdisplay, please contact display@threefive.com or (602) 389-8600.

About Brillian LCoS Microdisplays

A microdisplay is a small display, about the size of a thumbnail, that when combined with an optics system has the unique advantage of being able to make the apparent size of the image viewed as much as 100 times larger than the size of the actual display. The advantages of TFS' liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) Brillian Microdisplays include its extremely high resolution in a very small size, its light-weight and its ability to provide extremely high contrast, high brightness video and data displays. TFS has developed a complete line of Brillian Microdisplays from SVGA, the resolution of the Internet, to WUXGA, for products that require high-definition or ultra-high resolution.

About Brillian Corporation and About TFS

TFS is a recognized leader in providing end-to-end engineering, electronic manufacturing, and display solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). TFS has a global footprint, with operations in the United States, Europe and in several locations in Asia offering engineering and electronic manufacturing services (EMS), with a special emphasis and expertise in display subsystems. TFS also has a separate Microdisplay division, which is being spun off into a newly created publicly traded company called Brillian Corporation in mid-2003. The Microdisplay division offers discrete microdisplay devices through completely integrated microdisplay engine solutions based on its liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) microdisplays. TFS' Web site is located at //www.threefive.com . Three-Five Systems, Inc., the TFS logo, LCoS, and Brillian are trademarks or registered trademarks of TFS. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

3M and Vikuiti are trademarks of 3M.

SOURCE Three-Five Systems, Inc.